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Amur And Timur: Update

In the Primorsky Safari Park, Amur, a Siberian tiger, and Timur, a goat destined to become his dinner, became inseparable friends in a most unusual and rare turn of events. This friendship is going strong and grows stronger with every passing day. Lately, Amur started to give Timur hunting lessons. “Sometimes the tiger displays hunting behavior while on the walks with his friend, the goat. Timur tries to mimic the moves of the predator,” the director of the safari park Dmitry Mezentsev told to the Interfax. Some days, when Amur and Timur walk in the park, the tiger allows the goat to drink from his water bowl.

According to the park’s staff, when Amur and Timur walk near the enclosures of tigresses Ussuri and Taiga, the tigresses growl menacingly at the goat. Timur, however, having his friend nearby to protect him, keeps his cool.The other evening, one of the park’s employees tried to lead the goat away from the tiger for the night. Timur got scared and run back to Amur’s side. Mightily stressed, Timur calmed down only when Amur was in close proximity.

“Timur is afraid of people, he perceives people as his enemies, predators,” Mezentsev explained. “To relieve his stress, frightened goat runs from people to his friend, the tiger.”

Afterwards, Timur refused to leave Amur’s side and spent the night near the tiger. Very often Amur “yells” or roars during the night. That night, however, the tiger slept soundly, that is, without a sound.
The park employees say that after the tiger got a friend, he became generally more balanced and practically ceased to roar. Last week, when Amur and Timur had to spend the night in different enclosures and Amur was alone, he started bawling again.

The latest update from the park: For now, live goats will be excluded from Amur’s diet. (I suppose friendship, too, requires some sacrifices.)